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2 The commissioning of 27 was made possible with a leadership gift from Alison and John Ferring, and with generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fred M. Saigh Endowment at Opera Theatre, the National Endowment for the Arts, and OPERA America’s Opera Fund. CONTENTS PROLOGUE: Alice Knits the World .......................................................................................... 3 ACT ONE Scene 1: 27 rue de Fleurus..................................................................................................... 23 Scene 2: Gertrude Sits for Pablo............................................................................................. 49 Scene 3: Back at the Salon ..................................................................................................... 60 ACT TWO: Zeppelins Scene 1: Chatter ..................................................................................................................... 94 Scene 2: Doughboy..............................................................................................................111 ACT THREE: Génération Perdue ...........................................................................................122 ACT FOUR: Gertrude Stein Is Safe, Safe ...............................................................................173 ACT FIVE: Alone....................................................................................................................209 SETTING Paris, 27 rue de Fleurus, the early decades of the twentieth century CAST OF CHARACTERS Alice Toklas ..............................................................................................Soprano Gertrude Stein .............................................................................. Mezzo-soprano Pablo Picasso ................................................................................................Tenor (doubling as Fernande, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Painting 1, Gris Painting 1, Picasso’s Gertrude 1, Soldier 1, Empty Frame 1) Leo Stein...................................................................................................Baritone (doubling as Madame Matisse, Man Ray, Doughboy, Painting 2, Gris Painting, Picasso’s Gertrude 2, Soldier 2, Empty Frame 2) Ernest Hemingway .......................................................................... Bass-baritone (doubling as Marie, Henri Matisse, Painting 3, Gris Painting 3, samplePicasso’s Gertrude 3, Soldier 3, Empty Frame 3) 3 A NOTE FROM RICKY IAN GORDON When James Robinson asked me to write an opera for the great Stephanie Blythe, I thought immediately of a lifelong obsession, Gertrude Stein. At Carnegie Mellon University, at the age of seventeen, I picked up the book Charmed Circle just before catching a terrible cold, and read it in the course of a week in bed. I remember nothing that week but eating tangerines and reading about Gertrude and Alice and their milieu. I was mesmerized by their world. Gertrude was in many ways a perfect role model. She was committed to her own muse, ruggedly individual, unswayed by others’ opinions, and uninhibited in terms of being who she was, loving whom she loved, weighing what she weighed, having opinions, and facing the repercussions of them bravely. She loved beauty and was constantly interpreting and reinterpreting what she thought was beautiful. Mostly, she believed in herself with such rigor it fascinated me. And her world — the habitués of her salon, Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, anyone who was doing anything of interest, thinking anything worth thinking — came through her Paris salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, until finally, it was Alice who came through and stole her heart. I believe I was meant to write an opera about these two, about their world, because it is what I wanted my world to be. When I left school, I held salons in my New York apartment. Everything I wrote, I premiered there. In Royce Vavrek I found the perfect librettist. Making characters out of these two, creating a “story”— a “narrative” — out of events in their world, and compressing it into ninety minutes is quite a challenge. I didn’t want to bring Gertrude to life through her writings, as Virgil Thomson and so many others already had. I wanted to bring the woman to life, to create a sense of who she was, what she felt, how she and Alice lived their lives and related to one another and to the denizens of their world. Gertrude found her life in Paris with and through her brother Leo, but Leo couldn’t find himself, and was threatened by Alice and by Gertrude’s ascension as a writer. He saw in Alice a hundred percent commitment to his sister whom he could never support so completely. Royce used Alice’s knitting — an appropriate musical gesture — as a departure point, and wove together a stream of events, narrowing down the collection of people to the few who seemed seminal, and using the World Wars as brackets to give us a sense of who and what they were, and what their struggles and delights were. Right at the outset I told Royce not to whitewash her — as there is speculation as to HOW they stayed safe during the war, being both Jewish and lesbian. And the paintings are so alive, they should sing! And he didn’t and they do… I was almost in a trance composing this opera. I was excited to play it for anyone I could, because it felt so alive. It was of course, a great pleasure, hearing Stephanie’s voice in my head as I wrote it, as well as that of my dear friend Elizabeth Futral, who was cast early on as Alice. I hope this opera is as much of a pleasure for the audience as it was to create. Orchestral score and parts are available on rental from the publisher. The orchestral score is also available for purchase. The rights to this opera in whole or in part, including but not limited to radio, television, motion picture, stage, digital media, mechanical or digital reproduction or streaming, translation, printing, renting, or selling, are reserved. Licensesample to perform this work, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing from Theodore Presser Company. Terms will be quoted upon request. 4 SYNOPSIS BY ROYCE VAVRICK Alice B. Toklas sits in her living room at 27 rue de Fleurus and conjures the world she shared with Gertrude Stein by knitting the memories of their past back to life. Gertrude enters the salon and invites her guests to peruse her collection, praising the genius of the artists, as Alice attends to everyone. Pablo Picasso reveals his own portrait of Gertrude in a ceremony that is met with disdain by Leo Stein and a bit of jealousy by Henri Matisse. Leo announces he is moving to Italy and storms out. Gertrude and Alice toast his departure and sing of the ringing bells of genius that celebrate their love. Gertrude and Alice weather the First World War in Paris. Gertrude continues to write as the cold sets in and food becomes scarce. An American doughboy stationed in Paris becomes a friend, and provides them with coal and cigarettes, but fails to return with sought-after eggs. Another boy is added to the tally of the lost generation. After the war, Gertrude’s attention shifts from painters to writers, now welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the photographer Man Ray. Ernest and Scotty are desperate for Gertrude’s endorsement so she encourages them to wrestle for her attention — she will announce the winner a genius. When Ernest finds himself defeated he calls bullshit on Gertrude’s authority. The writers are expelled from the salon as the next war approaches. Gertrude and Alice survive the Second World War by sacrificing paintings. Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude preys on her conscience, asking her to explain how a Jewish-American authoress survived Nazi-occupied France. The guilt eats away at her and she dies in Alice’s arms. Alice, now alone, is surprised by the return of Picasso. Together they say goodbye to the portrait of Gertrude as it is being shipped off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Picasso sketches an image of Gertrude for Alice as the bells of genius and love chime once more. sample 5 27 3 An Opera in Five Acts Libretto by Music by ROYCE VAVREK RICKY IAN GORDON Prologue: Alice Knits the World ALICE TOKLAS, a small, slight, consistent woman, sits on a chaise-lounge downstage, knitting and mumbling to herself by the fireplace as the audience comes into the house. Wittily . = 96 She is completely enveloped in her crafting, her language almost trance-like. Alice : Gertrude : Painting 1 : i Painting 2 : Painting 3 : Instrument : Wittily . = 96 3 @ @ 3 : @@ Ç : J @ K Piano 3 3 : : @ : : K : : : : @ Ç : ± 4 Ç : K @ @ @ @Ç : 3 J Pno. : : : : : : : K : @@ : KKÇ : : @ @@ : : @@ : KK : @ K : @ : : Ç : : @ K ± 8 @ @ @ @ K : J Pno. @ @ : JJ @J : K : 3 : : : : : @ : K : : @ KÇ : @@ : sample : @ : KÇ : : @ : K : : © 2015 by Theodore Presser Company All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured 411-41142 Printed in U.S.A. 6 4 27—Prologue: Alice Knits the World rit. 11 a tempo Ç : : K : : : : : @ : K : : Pno. J : @K : : : : : K : @K : : : K @ : : 14 : J : : : : : : Pno. : : : : : : : : : : K : : K : : : : JÇ : : Ç : : : : : : Ç : : Ç : : : : : @K : Ç : : Ç : : @ : 18 : : : :
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